Table Mountain tops Everest
2009-07-10 08:47
Cape Town - Table Mountain is one step closer to being named one of the New7Wonders of Nature.
South Africa's iconic mountain, and its only official nominee, has been voted as one of the top 77 sites selected from over 261 participants from around the globe.
The much-loved landmark beat fellow category contenders Mount Everest, K2 and Mount Fiji in round two of the international competition that relied solely on votes from the public.
Table Mountain needed to be ranked in the top 11 of its category - mountains and volcanoes. Other categories include seascapes, lakes, islands, ice formations, waterfalls and forests.
"We are thrilled at the enormous level of support and votes from the citizens of South Africa as well as from fans around the globe," said Sabine Lehmann, CEO of Table Mountain Cableway, who formed an official supporting committee to promote Table Mountain as a nominee.
A panel of experts will now select 28 finalists (four per category), to be announced on July 21, 2009, when the third and final phase of public voting will begin. The official New7Wonders of Nature will be revealed in 2011.
A number of South African celebrities and sports stars showed their support for Table Mountain’s New7Wonders of Nature campaign.
The Archbishop Emeritus Desmond Tutu, comedian Marc Lottering, radio DJ Natalie Becker and the Proteas cricketers all cast their vote for Table Mountain.
The campaign is run by the New7Wonders Foundation which is based in Zurich, Switzerland and works to document monuments and conservation efforts worldwide.
Visit www.votefortablemountain.com for more information.